Teaching and Learning via Technology: Digital Feedback

Written formative-feedback within most university courses has been proven to be limited in its scope and content, with time being a limited resource, resulting in written feedback often being unclear, vague, and confusing. However, feedback using screen-capture videos can be more effective than written feedback, particularly for formative-evaluations, creating beneficial synergy between learning-activities and learning-outcomes. Notwithstanding evidence, the consensus of many teachers is that written-feedback is faster than video-feedback, so screen-capture video is seldom used. This paper makes two points: video screen-capture enhances feedback and using feedback via screen-capture video instead of written-feedback is a superior method of formative evaluation, saving time and helping students reach learning outcomes; additionally, filming lectures with embedded power-points, making them available to students, can be important for formative feedback. These time-saving methods have been applied to two courses at Malmo University, i.e. “Basic English Grammar Skills for University” and “Basic English Writing and Presenting Skills for University”.